Restoration of Center City place continues in South Bend
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- New life for a downtown South Bend building that's more than 100 years old. Center City Place has sat dormant for some time, but that is quickly changing.
Whether you know it as Center City Place, Grand Leader, or Frances Shop, this building truly holds a lot of South Bend history. After sitting unoccupied for years, that is now changing.
"Back in 2025, the city entered into a development agreement with a local owner, actually the owner who helped do the dainty maid renovation right next door, they purchased the grand leader building or the center city building, we entered into an agreement with them where the city would help provide a new roof, as well as restore the historical facade so that was pulling off that kind of 1960s brutalist sheet metal that had been covering it for the last half century, and really exposing some beautiful brick work," said Joseph Molnar, South Bend deputy director of community investment.
The iconic facade that adorned the building years ago is visible once again, with a bit of a modernized touch. Willow Wetherall of Downtown South Bend says that old facade being back in its rightful spot just adds to a great aesthetic.
"The building has a really great history, and it's been phenomenal to see the transformation as that old facade came off, and the historic facade has been revealed and restored, so I think that was just a wow factor for our community," says Willow Wetherall, executive director of Downtown South Bend.
While plans for the building's use have not been set, the city is already discussing some ideas.
"Some type of restaurant or brewery space on the ground floor, and then the upper two floors maybe being like a boutique hotel, something not quite as formal as normal hotel, just somewhere you check in, not on your phone, but to try and take advantage of all 3 floors in the space," says Molanar.
"The whole combination of what's happening on a block that had so many long term vacancies, again the momentum builds momentum, and people get more confidence, and they see investment happening on one part of the block, and then it just starts to snowball from there," says Wetherall.
The goal is to have everything at 225 South Michigan Street ready to go by the end of 2028.